Turnover time of fluorescent dissolved organic matter in the dark global ocean

Teresa S. Catalá, Isabel Reche (), Antonio Fuentes-Lema, Cristina Romera-Castillo, Mar Nieto-Cid, Eva Ortega-Retuerta, Eva Calvo, Marta Álvarez, Cèlia Marrasé, Colin A. Stedmon and X. Antón Álvarez-Salgado
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Teresa S. Catalá: Universidad de Granada
Isabel Reche: Universidad de Granada
Antonio Fuentes-Lema: Universidade de Vigo
Cristina Romera-Castillo: CSIC Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas
Mar Nieto-Cid: CSIC Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas
Eva Ortega-Retuerta: CSIC Institut de Ciencies del Mar
Eva Calvo: CSIC Institut de Ciencies del Mar
Marta Álvarez: IEO Centro Oceanográfico de A Coruña
Cèlia Marrasé: CSIC Institut de Ciencies del Mar
Colin A. Stedmon: National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark
X. Antón Álvarez-Salgado: CSIC Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is one of the largest reservoirs of reduced carbon on Earth. In the dark ocean (>200 m), most of this carbon is refractory DOM. This refractory DOM, largely produced during microbial mineralization of organic matter, includes humic-like substances generated in situ and detectable by fluorescence spectroscopy. Here we show two ubiquitous humic-like fluorophores with turnover times of 435±41 and 610±55 years, which persist significantly longer than the ~350 years that the dark global ocean takes to renew. In parallel, decay of a tyrosine-like fluorophore with a turnover time of 379±103 years is also detected. We propose the use of DOM fluorescence to study the cycling of resistant DOM that is preserved at centennial timescales and could represent a mechanism of carbon sequestration (humic-like fraction) and the decaying DOM injected into the dark global ocean, where it decreases at centennial timescales (tyrosine-like fraction).

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6986

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